Review Summary: Getting by pretty splendidly with a little help from their friends
At the risk of sounding reductive, I like to think of 2001’s Deep In The Hole as being more or less a lost Queens Of The Stone Age album. Several of that collective’s collaborators are here including Mark Lanegan, Troy Van Leeuwen, and Josh Homme himself and Masters of Reality was already leaning heavily on their stoner rock side as the new millennium was taking hold. At the same time, bandleader Chris Goss is still clearly leading the charge and it speaks to the connections he’d acquired through prolific production credits and involvement in the Desert Sessions. And considering how QOTSA was basically just a poppier Masters of Reality, it makes for an intriguing ‘chicken or the egg’ type dynamic.
This album may not have the high concept framing of Rated R or the forthcoming Songs For The Deaf, but it just means the songwriting is that much more focused. The structures and pacing are as lean and varied as ever with a codified assortment of hard rock, stoner-blues, and dreamy psych. “Third Man On The Moon” and “A Wish For A Fish” kick down the door Sufferbus-style with muscular riff sets that are soon contrasted by the dreamy textures on “Counting Horses” and “Scatagoria” while the title track gives its shuffle a warped slant.
It also helps the musicianship is such that the contributors elevate the material without coming off like a crutch. It’s certainly cool to hear Lanegan trading vocals on a song like “High Noon Amsterdam” but that doesn’t feel integral to it working as a breezy lighthearted romp. The straightforward guitar and pleasant vocals remain the primary focuses, albeit the latter are starting to get a little deeper, but they benefit from that extra oomph quite nicely.
Overall, Deep In The Hole sees Masters of Reality getting by pretty splendidly with a little help from their friends. It’s like a better realized version of 1999’s Welcome To The Western Lodge in some regards, developing that album’s fuzzed out vision but feeling less scatterbrained thanks to its tighter songwriting and less isolated dynamic. The band remains unique but you get the sense that they’ve finally found their people. It may not have the exalted status of those first two albums but still deserves a place at the table when discussing the finest in stoner rock.
